Fate is a Strange Thing
by JazzyMoma
Summary: Hanabi is confused. Between becoming the Hyūga heiress and meeting an idiot with peculiar eyes at her usual training spot, she doesn't know what to think. Hanabi has no clue what fate has in store for her. Hanabi x OC
1. This is my fate

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.** **If** **I did Sasuke would get what he deserves for being a brat to everyone.**

 **Hi, this is my first story! Please** **r &r**! **If you have something you think I can change to make this story better please let me know! I'm open to criticism (and nice comments too :3)**

 **I hope you enjoy my story**

* * *

"No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path."

 **-Gautama Buddha**

* * *

Hanabi was lost. She was utterly and devastatingly lost. Now that she was the heiress of the clan what was she to do? Her whole life she had looked up to big sister Hinata only to beat her in a spar. She hated to be the one that caused her kind and gentle sister pain.

' _But this is my fate, and you can't change your fate.'_ she thought bitterly. It was her fate to become the head of the clan and for Hinata to be tossed aside, as a failure. Even if she was kind and gent- _'No, I must stay focused on the present. 'It's Hinata's destiny to be a failure and for me to take over as the head of the clan.'_ She thought, somberly.

Not only that, but father didn't even congratulate her, much less show any form of happiness for her now that she was the heiress. He only focused on the wrongdoings of Hinata, talking about how she was "Five years your senior." Making it seem like Hanabi only won because of Hinata's wrongdoings and not her own strength. _'I don't even_ want _to be the Hyūga h-'_

 _ **Bang! Bang! Bang!**_

She was broken from her thoughts by a loud banging noise. She looked up to see a boy about her own age pounding his fists into a tree close by. He hadn't noticed her yet, _'which isn't surprising considering the racket he's making.'_ she thought, annoyed. She had come here to be alone in her thoughts. Now she couldn't even focus with that loud banging. She huffed loudly and crossed her arms. She looked up at him only to notice his hands had blood on them. Probably from hitting the tree for too long and too hard. _'Idiot, training hard won't help you change your fate.'_ she thought Disapprovingly.

He kept going for a while, not showing any sign of stopping soon. It was amazing how he could still go on, Hanabi could tell most of his chakra was used up. ' _Any sane person would stop and go home by now.'_ Hanabi thought curiously.

Hanabi just sat there and watched him. He kept going with all his strength even now. When she realized what she was doing and decided to clear her throat to get his attention, rather than he notice her and she be accused of...well gawking. "Ahem." He continued to pound his fists into the tree, Hanabi tried again louder, "Ahem!" This time he glanced over at her.

There wasn't anything that special about him in her opinion. He had light olive skin, and messy hair black as coal that stuck up on every end. The only thing that caught her eye was his deep diamond-like turquoise eyes. Though it wasn't the rare color that caught her attention, it was the glint in his eyes. All of the times she had looked into her sister's eyes, they always looked tortured and dead inside. There was an empty hollowness about them. But he had something in his eyes her sister didn't. Hanabi couldn't place her finger on what though.

Hanabi looked down. She noticed he was wearing ninja attire. _'He looks way too young to be a ninja?'_ Hanabi thought, questioningly.

When Hanabi realized he wasn't going to say something she stuck out her hand "Hi, I'm Hanabi, who are you?" She said with a bit of a forced smile, making sure to be on her guard. Even if she could probably beat him with one blow, she needed to stay alert. She remembered watching her father scorning Hinata "Never let your guard down, the moment you do your opponent will strike."

"I'm Shrey," he said, snapping her out of her memories as he shook her hand. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, I didn't notice someone else was here."

"It's fine." She said a little coldly.

"Well, now I'll know for next time."

"Next time?" She said quizzically, raising an eyebrow.

"You know, when I come back to train." He said nonchalantly as if he didn't just say he had claimed her safe spot. _Hers_. _'This is_ my _spot! Who does he think he is?!'_

"Hey I was here first, find some other place." She said crossing her arms.

But he was already walking away towards the village. _'That little-'_

"Hey! I was talking to you! Come back here!" She yelled after him.

He looked at her over his shoulder and winked. For a second Hanabi thought she saw one of his eyes flash yellow. She blinked and it was gone. _'I must be pretty out of it to start seeing things.'_

He turned back and raised his arm to acknowledge that he heard her.

"See ya around."

 _'Ughhhnhh!'_ Hanabi stomped her foot. Who did he think he was just walking away from her. He was so annoying. Although she did have to admit that he was interesting.

She looked up at the sun to check the time. She better get back before father notices she was gone.

* * *

When she got home she slipped through the door as quietly as she could. She wasn't sure if father would approve of her being out.

She headed outside to go train, but when she got to the door she saw big sister Hinata training. _'Wow. Big sister Hinata is really putting her all into_ _it.'_ Her sister just kept punching and punching. Her knuckles were even starting to swell from the strength she was putting into the punches. Hanabi felt as though there was a new glint in her sister's eyes. Suddenly the glint disappeared. She stopped abruptly and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Hanabi thought she could see tears in her eyes.

A wave of guilt washed through her. She turned away from Hinata and went back upstairs. _'I don't feel like training now anyway.'_

She decided instead to just fall asleep. As she dozed off she couldn't stop thinking of her sister training. There was just something about her that was different—only Hanabi couldn't figure out what. _'Her knuckles were even swelling...Just like that boy from before_.' Her thoughts turned to the turquoise eyed boy she met at her spot.

 _'What a strange person. An idiot too. Oh, and don't forget rude.'_ She thought as she remembered him walking away in the middle of their conversation.

 _'What an idiot,'_ She thought as she dozed off.


	2. The academy

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did Hanabi Hyūga would get much more screen time!**

 **Hey again! Here with another chapter! In this chapter, it strays from canon. If you don't like that, watch the actual thing, this is fanfic! :P**

 **some people were confused about Hanabi's age. Both Hanabi and Shrey are 7-8 years old. They both had to grow up quickly since they're ninja-in-training. Just to make it clear.**

 **please r &r! I'm open to criticism, and whatever you think will help make this story better. (Complements are welcome too :3)**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They're there to stop the other people."  
 **-Randy Pausch**

* * *

Hanabi panted for breath. Her father had started rigorously training her, now that she had beat Hinata in their duel. She had worked for hours trying to perfect her gentle fist. Her father was constantly pointing out what she needed to fix. She was _extremely_ tired. _'I must keep going. It is my fate.'_ Hanabi thought.

"Put some _power_ into it." Her father commanded sternly

Hanabi stopped panting and composed herself, getting into her ready stance. She lunged again, complying to what father told her to do.

He blocked it easily but gave a small nod in approval. Hanabi started panting again while bending down to hold onto her knees. All her muscles ached from training hours on end. Hanabi looked up through her strands of hair to see her father looking down at her with an emotionless face.

"That is good for now. You are dismissed." Her father said stoically. Hanabi thought she could hear a hint of exasperation in his tone.

Hanabi nodded. _'Why do I have to get tired so quickly!'_ Hanabi thought, angry at herself.

' _Father must think I am weak!'_ Hanabi thought to herself as she walked out the door.

Instead of heading up to her room, she walked outside heading to her safe spot. She needed a place to train, and not be interrupted.

* * *

As soon as she got there she started pounding her fists into a tree. She didn't bother to notice her surroundings as she continuously pounded the tree.

 **Bam! Bam! Bam!**

 _'I must prove to everyone—father—that I am worthy of being the Hyūga heiress!'_ Hanabi let her thoughts fuel her as she continuously punched the tree.

 **Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!**

Hanabi was about to stop to catch her breath but stopped herself. Instead, she grit her teeth and continued on with beating up the tree. Hanabi's arms ached for her to stop but she didn't care, she kept on going. It seemed like her whole body was protesting her to stop, but Hanabi wouldn't. _'I. Am. Not. Weak!'_ With each word, she threw a punch. Just as Hanabi went in for another punch someone spoke.

"You're sure persistent." The voice came from behind her.

She turned around to see Shrey leaning against a tree. It'd been a while since she'd seen him. _'But when did he get here?!'_ Hanabi thought surprised, though she tried to hide it.

"Now who's the one interrupting who?" He said playfully, grinning at her. His diamond-like turquoise eyes glinting in the sun.

Hanabi narrowed her eyes at him. _'Wait, that_ _must mean he was here before I got here!'_ Hanabi realized. How did she not notice him?!

"What're you doing here anyway? I thought you said you would come here to train." Hanabi asked, spitefully.

"I was training." He shrugged.

That only infuriated Hanabi. She heard no sort of training when she entered the area. If anything, it was completely silent. How can you train silently!?

 _'_ _This idiot_ _is something else'_ Hanabi thought, still confused.

He just nodded, as if to say that was all he would say about the topic.

"Sooooo...something on your mind? This is the first time I've felt bad for a tree." He said, changing the topic.

Hanabi glanced back at the tree. She really _did_ beat the stuffing out of it. She slightly blushed and looked away.

"I need to prove that I'm not weak," Hanabi stated loudly. She didn't even process what she was saying. Why on earth did she tell him that?! She didn't even know him that well! All she really knew about him was his name.

She looked at him. He looked as if he was thinking deeply about something. Suddenly, he grinned at her. _'He's one cheery person, isn't he'_ Hanabi thought to herself, amused.

"Don't train yourself to death just yet," He said jokingly.

"But I'm glad that you're working hard for your goals. Makes me want to work even harder to achieve my own!" He said a bit more seriously.

Hanabi then wondered exactly what _were_ his goals. Though she did not voice this thought.

"So are you going to the academy this fall?" He asked her, changing the subject.

Hanabi looked at him confused. _'Father didn't mention anything about me going to the academy this fall?'_

His jaw dropped open comically.

"You mean you've never heard of the ninja academy?!" He asked, his glinting eyes widening.

"I have!" Hanabi said defensively, in an innocent seven-year-old way.

"My sister Hinata goes there. My father hasn't mentioned anything to me about going there. I was never really interested, so I never really asked what it was. I'm pretty sure what it is. Will you stop staring and tell me what it is already!" Hanabi pouted.

He shut his mouth and gave her one last incredulous look before elaborating.

"The ninja academy is where all children who want to become a Genin go. It doesn't matter if you're a commoner or if You come from an old clan, everyone can go. They teach you how to do all sorts of cool ninja things, like using cool ninja tools like kunai!"

As he continued to babble on about the academy Hanabi zoned out as a million thoughts went through her head at once. _'Will this help me get stronger? Why hasn't father ever mentioned this? This might be my chance to redeem myse-'_

Suddenly a hand waved in front of her face.

"Hello, are you there?" Shrey asked, still shaking his hand in front of her face.

She swatted at his hand and glared at him.

"I'm here! I'm here!" Hanabi whined, still swatting away his hand.

"So I'm guessing you're going," Hanabi said.

He stopped waving his hand at her and nodded.

"I think I'll ask father about it," Hanabi said.

"Great! We could go together! Well then, catch you later!" He replied, running off into the village. Hanabi watched as his figure dissappeared into the crowd of villagers. She shook her head. _'What a strange idiot he is.'_

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

Hiashi looked worriedly over at Kurenai. He didn't know who else to talk to about his problems and worries. The only one he could think of was Hinata's sensei, Kurenai. If Kurenai was willing to take his daughter Hinata as a student, he knew she would be the right person to ask.

Kurenai glanced concernedly over at Hiashi. She had never seen the clan head look so worried and decomposed. She wondered feverishly why he had summoned her. Truth be told, she was a little intimidated.

Finally, Hiashi spoke.

"I don't know what to do about Hanabi. She is at the age where she can enter the academy. I haven't told her about the academy yet. I don't know if I should send her to the acadamey, or train her myself. I've already gotten permission from lord third to train and teach her myself. She needs to be protected now that she is the clan heiress, but the only problem is I don't know how much she will grow in strength if she trains by herself. If she enters the academy and becomes a Genin, she will be able to push herself against others. I just am worried about her protection." Hiashi vented.

Kurenai blinked. He had spoken so fast she had almost missed it. It was hard for her to think that the stoic clan head was actually a just a worried father. Kurenai smiled to herself.

"I think you should send Hanabi to the academy. It will do her good to compete against the other students. You will still have time to teach her the clan techniques. And don't forget she will have her teammates and Sensei to protect her. You can't keep her from growing up forever." Kurenai told him.

Hiashi looked thoughtful for a moment before responding.

"I think you're right. I will send Hanabi to the academy. I'll tell her this evening. Thank you for your help. I really do appreciate it." Hiashi said.

"It was nothing. And I'm always here if you need to talk." Kurenai said. Hiashi gave her a small grateful smile as she exited.

 _'Wel_ _l ,who would've thought, Hiashi is really just one big teddy bear that's nervous and caring about both his daughters. I know right now he is being hard one Hinata, but I can tell he still cares about her even though Hanabi is the clan heiress.'_ Kurenai thought to herself as she left the Hyūga compound.

* * *

Hanabi slowly approached her father's door. She knocked. "May I come in?" She asked

"Yes. Come in." She heard her father says from inside his study.

As she opened the door she felt nostalgic about when she went here with grandfather after he had caught her training.

She saw her father put down his book as she stepped inside.

"Hanabi, I'm glad you came. I've got something to tell you, but why have you come?" He asked her formally.

Hanabi was surprised. So he also had something to tell her.

"I also have something to tell you, father," Hanabi said.

"You may go first." Her father said.

Hanabi gulped and nodded. Inside her head, Hanabi tried to build her self confidence. _'Come on! Just ask him!'_ She berated herself.

She looked up to her fathers piercing gaze on her. She cleared her throat.

"Father, I wanted to ask you about the academy," Hanabi said, a little nervous.

Her father looked a bit shocked but nodded at her to keep going. _'I guess I don't need to tell her then. Did someone else mention the academy to her?'_ Hiashi thought to himself.

"Well...I was thinking it would help me get stronger. I hear they teach you lots of things there. You would still teach me clan techniques of course, but I think it would be helpful and informative to go to the academy." Hanabi said, rushing the last part as she looked in her lap. She could feel her father's eyes on her. She squirmed in her seat.

Hiashi sighed.

 _'I guess it's official, my baby girl is going to the academy.'_ Hiashi thought.

"If that is what you think, then so be it. I also think it will benefit you some. Though you will not be in the same class as your sister Hinata." Her father said.

Hanabi looked up. ' _Maybe I'll ask her about it'_ Then Hanabi remembered the tears she saw no her sisters eyes.

 _'Elder sister must hate me. She probably can't even stand to look at me. After all, I am the reason father turned his back on her. I wouldn't blame her if she never spoke to me again'_ Hanabi sulked.

"Then it is decided! You shall go to the academy starting this fall." Her fathers booming voice snapping Hanabi out of her depressing thoughts.

"Father, what was it you have to tell me?" Hanabi asked.

"Oh, it was nothing..." He said.

Hanabi wasn't really paying attention anyway, since she was itching to leave.

Hanabi bowed her head.

"Thank you, father." She responded, as she hastily got up to leave.

"Oh, and Hanabi," her father said.

"Yes?" Hanabi paused

"I hope to see some real improvement once you join the academy." He said sternly.

"Yes, father." Hanabi nodded as she closed the door.

Once she got to her room she flopped onto the bed. After training with father to beating up a tree, to having an interesting conversation with an idiot, and finally getting permission to go to the academy, she was beat. She lay there for a few moments trying to grasp everything that had happened to her today.

 _'Maybe this will actually help me get stronger. I don't want to let father down. Though I can't believe father actually agreed to it! I thought for sure he would say no.'_

 _'Well, I guess I know one thing for sure. I'll be seeing a lot more of that idiot once we start at_ _the academy'_ For some reason that thought made her smile as she drifted off to sleep.


	3. First day nerves

**Hey** **there! Chapter number three is finally here!**

 **Please r &r. You are welcome and encouraged to leave comments. I'm open to criticism that will help this be a better story. (Don't forget those compliments :3)**

 **If you're wondering how Hanabi didn't know Hinata was now a Genin even though there was a graduation ceremony, it was because Hiashi didn't bother to go to it, and instead trained Hanabi during it. He didn't even mention it to Hanabi.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"I had become awkward and tried my best to avoid everyone. I hated attention, people asking me questions or putting me in the spotlight; I preferred to blend into the background unnoticed. I felt safer that way"  
 **-Giovanna Fletcher**

* * *

Fall was finally here. Everywhere around the hidden leaf village there were red, orange, yellow and brown leaves that littered the floor. Fall was Hanabi's favorite season. She loved how the colorful leaves made the hidden village look. They made the quaint village even more charming, in Hanabi's opinion.

So when the first day of the academy came in the fall Hanabi was in a good mood. Everywhere she looked there were different color leaves. _'It's so peaceful and beautiful outside.'_ Hanabi skipped all the way to the academy, with Hinata trailing behind her.

That wasn't the only reason she was in a good mood. Hanabi thought back to breakfast.

 **Flashback...**

Hanabi shoved her last bits of her breakfast into her mouth. Admittedly she was both nervous and excited about going to the academy. She didn't know anyone besides Shrey and her sister, but Hinata wouldn't be in class with her.

As she walked outside about to head to the academy she ran into Hinata. One might think that this would not be unusual since they live together, but Hanabi had been successfully avoiding Hinata. Hanabi still thought her sister was mad at her for beating her in the duel.

"Hanabi," Her sister's voice was soft and gentle. "I feel like we haven't seen a lot of each other lately." The sadness in Hinata's voice was clear to even Hanabi. She instantly regretted avoiding her sister.

"If you thought I was mad at you after our fight, I wasn't. Of course, if you didn't think I was mad...what I mean to say is well...if you were wondering I'm not mad. I heard you're going to the academy. Let's walk together, ok." Hinata smiled gently at her younger sister. Hanabi mentally kicked herself. Of course elder sister didn't hate her, she was too nice for that.

"Thanks, I _was_ wondering. And yeah, let's walk together." Hanabi smiled back.

 _'Elder sister is so kind and forgiving'_ Hanabi thought admiringly.

But then she remembered everything that had happened in the past months. ' _That's the reason father thought she wasn't fit to be heiress in the first place, though.'_ Hanabi thought, trying to push out her emotions for her sister and look at the facts. If Hanabi wanted to be a good clan head she would have to harden her heart. Though she still couldn't help let a small smile pass her lips at her big sister.

They didn't talk much, but there wasn't an awkward silence. Instead, both Hyūga's took in the beautiful sight of the hidden leaf village in fall.

* * *

 **Back in the present...**

"Looks like we're here," Hinata stated as the academy building came into sight. Hanabi took in the white building with red roofs with uncertainty. The whole building looked worn as if it had been there for a while and had its fair share of damage. She would have to get used to seeing this building for a while.

"Well, I've got to go to class. We're getting put into teams today." Hinata informed her, tearing Hanabi from her assessment of the academy building. Hanabi then noticed the leaf headband tied around Hinata's neck. She wanted to kick herself. How had she been so blind?! It must've happened while Hanabi was avoiding her. Though her sister really was amazing.

"Good luck, I hope you get put on a good team, elder sister!" Hanabi said, smiling wide at Hinata. Hinata smiled back and went inside the academy.

Now that her sister was gone there was no one to distract her from the growing knot in her stomach as she stood outside the academy. What if no one liked her, what if she was the class weirdo. What if she couldn't master some of the techniques.

Hanabi took a deep breath. _'Stay calm. You're the one who asked for this in the first place.'_ Hanabi thought, trying to boost her confidence.

But what if people don't like me- _'Just go'-_ What if I'm made fun of- _'Just Go'_ -What if I suck at everything we do- _'Just Go!'-_ What if I hate it _there-JUST GO!'_ But what if-

"Hey, Hanabi, that you?" A familiar voice yelled behind her, saving her from her internal war.

She turned to see Shrey waving like an idiot at her.

"Hey, Hanabi, you made it." He yelled over at her as he ran to catch up to her.

"Yeah..." Hanabi said, the knot I'm her stomach not completely gone.

"Were you about to head in too. This is so exciting!" Shrey said gleefully. _'Of course he isn't even the slightest bit nervous. C'mon, Hanabi, you can't be more scared than that idiot.'_

"Yeah," Hanabi said, determined not to be more nervous than him. She pushed her knot deep down in her stomach so she could almost not notice it.

"Let's do this together," Shrey said, grinning at her.

Hanabi gave a small smile of her own back.

Then they both walked up to the doors and each pulled one open. They both took one giant step into the building as the doors closed behind them.

The hallways were not overly crowded, but had students littering it here and there. Even though Hanabi knew it was all in her head, she felt as though everybody had started whispering about her. She started breathing quickly. What if they thought she was the weird new kid, wha-

"It'll be fine. I'm here with you, remember." Shrey said, grabbing her hand and smiling at her.

His smile somehow calmed Hanabi's nerves, and her breathing went back to a normal speed.

Hanabi tried to only focus on his smile. She blocked out everyone and everything else. She just focused on his smile with all her might.

After what she thought was an eternity, they reached her homeroom.

"Well, this is my homeroom," Hanabi said, slipping her hand out of Shrey's.

"It's mine too!" He said happily. Hanabi let out a light sigh. Well, at least she would know one person. Well, if she could even call that "knowing".

They walked in together once more. The first thing Hanabi noticed were the desks. Every row that was closer to the back was raised a level. _'Clever, that way the teacher can spot if you're not paying attention more easily.'_ Hanabi thought to herself.

The next thing she noticed was that they weren't the first ones there. A number of students were already in their seats, or talking to one of their friends. She even spotted one person sleeping! The teacher wasn't here yet, and not all the students were here yet either.

Hanabi decided to take a seat beside the sleeping boy. That way she didn't have to make awkward conversation to someone she didn't know. Shrey plopped down beside her, and for that Hanabi was grateful. She was kind of an introvert and was shy towards new people. Though not as much as her sister.

She turned to face Shrey who was facing the board. She looked for a second into his turquoise eyes before speaking.

"Hey, Shrey, why do you train so hard?" Hanabi asked, genuinely curious ever since their first encounter.

Shrey looked surprised, but quickly recovered.

"To get stronger. To be more specific, to master a special technique that I'm having trouble doing. I know if I train my hardest I can get it!" He declared loudly, grinning at her.

Hanabi was about to ask what exactly that technique was, but was interrupted.

"Will you keep it down. I'm trying to get some sleep here." A voice that sounded lazy and annoyed, said.

Hanabi looked over to her other side to see the boy that was before asleep, awake. She could get a better look at him now that he wasn't sleeping with his head in his arm. He had black hair that was slicked back behind him. It almost reached his shoulder and curved up at the end slightly. She could see the beginning roots of his hair, that was very spikey looking. His eyes were sharp and also the color black.

"You're the one sleeping during class." Hanabi said defensively, not as nervous as before.

"It's not like class has started yet anyway. What a pain, now I'm up. I'll probably just fall back asleep though." He said lazily.

Hanabi sweat-dropped while Shrey laughed. And he did go back to sleep! It amazed Hanabi how he was so relaxed and comfortable that he could fall asleep!

Suddenly the door opened and an old man stepped into the classroom. Everybody immediately stopped talking to their friends and took a seat.

Their teacher was so old that Hanabi could see the roots of his hair graying. He wore the normal chunky vest. He looked like one of those teachers that was kind and strict. One that would get on you for sleeping in class, but not be _that_ mad.

"Hello class, I'm Yuuto Sensei. I'm here to help you all become ninja, and achieve your goals." His voice was gruff, yet Hanabi detected gentleness as he wrote his name on the board.

Suddenly he turned and threw his chalk at the boy sleeping next to her. It hit him directly on the head. ' _Woah, he's good'_ Hanabi thought, silently.

"You there, make sure you stay awake in my class." He said. The boy grumbled, but didn't go back to sleep this time.

"Ok then, let's do attendance." He said as he pulled out a sheet of paper on a clipboard.

"Aki, Karura" He called out, last name first.

"Here."

He continued as he continued taking attendance a Hanabi looked out the window.

"Hyūga, Hanabi."

"Here." She replied distractedly.

She continued to look out into the now colorful leaf village. And watched the colorful leaves fall off the trees and onto the ground. It was so calming and peaceful to do. After a while, in the back of her mind, she heard her teacher call out again.

"Nara, Riku."

"Here." The boy next to her responded lazily. So his name was Riku, and he was part of the infamous Nara clan. Her previous tutor, Natsu, had taught her about them. They were known for their shadow possession jutsu. She also heard that they were very lazy. Well, he certainly fit the bill.

It occurred to her that she didn't know Shrey's last name. Just as she got to wondering what it could be, their teacher Yuuto Sensei said,

"Takashima, Shrey."

So that answered it. Takashima, huh. She felt as if she had heard that name somewhere, but couldn't put her finger on it. As Yuuto Sensei went on with the attendance Hanabi wondered where she had heard the name before. She was sure that Natsu hadn't mentioned it, so where had she heard it. Maybe she was just overthinking this.

Yuuto Sensei started teaching the class about chakra. Of course she already knew this, since Natsu had taught her, and the Hyūga's gentle fist had to do a lot with the chakra network. So Hanabi just stared out the window, bored. She decided that she probably heard Natsu mention Shrey's family name and forgot about it. That must be it...

* * *

She was now at home rigorously training with father. She was on the floor catching her breath.

 _'Why do I have to get so tired! What's wrong with me?!'_ Hanabi thought, angry at herself.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and a woman Hanabi did not know entered. She had curly black hair, red eyes, and purple eyeshadow.

Father didn't speak to her and instead said,

"Stand up, Hanabi."

Hanabi did not, still gasping for air.

"I'll take Hinata under my wing. But are you—are you sure that's what you want?" The woman asked.

"She is your firstborn and heiress, being a Genin can be dangerous, and their life brief." She said.

"Do whatever you will. She's of less worth than her sister, five years younger than her. We have no use for such a heiress." Father didn't even bother to turn and look in the woman's direction.

Hanabi looked up. Through the screen walls, she could see her elder sister's shadow.

 _'Father has turned his back on elder sister.'_ Hanabi thought sadly.

"Now leave us, we have work to do." He said sternly.

The woman nodded. "Of course, I will leave you now." And closed the door behind her.

"Continue, Hanabi." Father said, strictly.

Hanabi pulled herself off the floor with some effort, and lunged again.

 _'If elder sister cannot be the heiress for the Hyūga, than I will be for her. This is my fate, and I can't change it.'_

* * *

Kurenai's eyes widened when she saw Hinata standing right outside. The poor girl looked defeated.

 _'_ _He has tossed Hinata aside. But I'm sure he still cares for her. I'll just have to train Hinata as best I can to prove to him that she is not a failure. I take this challenge upon myself.'_ Kurenai thought determinedly.


	4. The struggle of making new friends

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, if I did Pervy Sage and Lady Tsunade would totally be a thing!**

 **Long time no see! Sorry it took so long to update, I was still recovering from the shift of summer to school ;)**

 **please r &r, I love to hear what you think and if you have any thoughts to make this story better.**

* * *

"Since there is nothing so well worth having as friends, never lose a chance to make them"

 **-** **Francesco** **Guicciardini**

* * *

It was now the second day at the academy.

After What happened last night, Hanabi was determined to fulfill her fate of becoming the clan head. _'This is my fate.'_

When Hanabi had dragged herself out of bed (she was _not_ a morning person) her sister wasn't in her room. Hanabi thought it was probably because of her Genin duties.

Hanabi tiredly threw on some clothes and walked down the stairs. Once she had shoved the last bits of breakfast into her mouth she went out the door. It was kind of wierd to walk the village streets alone without big sister. Instead of focusing on the eerie silence, Hanabi just took in the sights.

Honestly she was relieved. The academy wasn't nearly as hard as she thought it was going to be. For most of Yuuta Sensei's lesson she zoned out, since she already knew it. At lunch she sat with Shrey, while he mostly talked about how cool everything was while she listened. Then when they got back to class she zoned out again. It was pretty uneventful, and no one really noticed her, much less picked on her. And for that Hanabi was thankful.

Hanabi could see the worn-out academy building coming into view. As she got closer she took a deep breath. She reminded herself there was no reason to be nervous and opened the door. She quickly walked through the hallways to her classroom.

She pulled open the door open. She looked around the classroom. Shrey was nowhere to be seen. Of course she didn't assume he would always walk in with her, but she thought he would already be in class. Obviously, she was wrong. Hanabi gulped. _'Don't be a scaredy cat! Just go sit somewhere!'_

Hanabi decided to once again sit next to the Nara boy who's name was Riku, who was sleeping. _'Does he do anything_ other _than sleep?!'_ Hanabi though incredulously. Hanabi had never met anyone so lazy.

Hanabi was _soooooooo_ bored! She supposed she could walk over and start talking to one of those girls over there. But then again, it was much safer over here, where she didn't have to talk to anyone. Maybe she could just sit there and wait for Shrey. No, she would look like a total wierdo. But she shouldn't care what others think...though she kind of did. Ugh, what was she to do?!

Suddenly, Riku pulled up his head from his position. Hanabi's mouth dropped open.

"You were awake...this whole time!" Hanabi yelped surprised.

He nodded, lazily.

"Why didn't you say something?!" Hanabi asked. If she thought Shrey was a bit out of it, this guy was from a different universe!

He shrugged. "I didn't feel like talking. If you knew I was awake you would have started talking to me." He replied.

Hanabi sweat-dropped. So he pretended to be asleep...so he didn't have to talk to her. ' _Am I really that wierd that nobody wants to talk to me?'_ Hanabi thought, a bit hurt from his words.

"Just so you know, I wouldn't have forced you to talk to me. I mean, I get the whole wanting-to-be-left-alone thing." Hanabi said, her hair covering her face from view like a shield.

Riku blinked, his eyes widening.

"Troublesome," He muttered, barely audible.

"Look, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just tired, you know. I'm Riku, you're Hanabi, right?" He said.

Hanabi nodded.

"Honestly, I think the whole academy thing is a pain. But my parents would really get on me if I didn't become a ninja."

"Yeah, my dad can also get on me sometimes." Hanabi told him.

"Parents can be such a drag. One time my mom poured ice-cold water on me to wake up." Riku said.

Hanabi laughed. Riku gave her a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm not a morning person either. Sometimes my sister will have to wake me up. Though she's never poured water on me."

Hanabi tried to picture her kind sister pouring water on her. Hanabi almost laughed at the thought.

"Mornings are always a pain." Riku said.

"How do you even get up in the morning?" Hanabi asked genuinely. He was just _so_ lazy.

"Like I said, if I don't wake up, I'll have an early ice-cold shower."

Hanabi laughed again.

"Well I can't say I'm against the idea." Hanabi said jokingly.

Riku stuck his tongue out, in pretend.

Both Riku and Hanabi started laughing.

The door opened. Yuuto Sensei walked through the door. Immediately, everyone shut up and got in their seats, including Riku and Hanabi.

"Ok, lets get class started." Yuuto Sensei said to all of them.

Well _almost_ all of them. Hanabi had noticed that Shrey still wasn't here. Yuuto Sensei started taking attendance. Hanabi fidgeted with her fingers.

 _'Where Is he?!'_ Hanabi thought, worried.

Riku noticed Hanabi continuously glancing at Shrey's empty seat.

"Psst. Where's your friend?" He asked in a whisper.

"We're not friends, we just...know each other." Hanabi tried to explain in a rushed whisper. It was embarrassing to be associated with that idiot.

"Well, whatever, either way he's gonna get it if he doesn't come soon" Riku whispered back.

Hanabi cracked her knuckles nervously. Truth be told she was actually kind of nervous, she didn't want Shrey to get in trouble on the second day. Where was he? Had something happened to him?

Suddenly the door opened. Shrey was there panting, holding onto one of his legs, bent over. Hanabi guessed from running up the stairs. As Hanabi took a closer look at him, she realized he had a few new bruises. _'He probably just tripped'_ Hanabi thought to herself.

"You're late, Shrey." Yuuto Sensei said.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Everyone sweat-dropped at how casual he was being to their teacher.

Shrey walked over to Hanabi and Riku and plopped himself down. Yuuto Sensei just sighed and continued with class.

"So did I miss anything?" Shrey asked her, whispering.

"Nothing really. Me and Riku just talked about how are parents can be." She whispered back.

Hanabi turned to glance at Riku. He was already back asleep. Hanabi sweat-dropped.

Hanabi turned back to Shrey.

"Yeah, I get how parents can be." Shrey whispered. Hanabi thought he sounded rather serious.

Hanabi didn't feel as though it was her place to ask about his parents. So instead she just looked outside the windows at the falling leaves. Everything just looked so beautiful. It all looked so...colorful. Hanabi sighed. Some days she wished she could be carried with the wind just like those fallen leaves.

* * *

Hanabi and Shrey sat together at lunch like they had the day before. They both opened their bentos, Shrey making a face at his.

"What is it?" Hanabi asked.

"He put in a food He knows I don't like in it." Shrey whined accusingly, pointing at the food he disliked.

Hanabi looked over to see which food Shrey was talked about. But there was a sudden ' _flump'_ noise causing both Hanabi and Shrey look up to see Riku had plopped down across form Hanabi. Shrey raised his eyebrows at they Nara boy while Hanabi just gaped. Riku's head was in his arms like in class. He picked up his head to look at them.

"What are you doing here? Not that you're not allowed to sit here, It's just...unexpected." Hanabi questioned him.

"I just didn't feel like napping today during and lunch and you guys were the only people I knew." He responded.

"Hey you're that boy that sits next to us," cue face palm from Hanabi and eye roll from Riku. "What was your name again, Rishu, Riko-"

"Riku. Riku Nara" Riku interrupted him.

"Hey, Riku, I don't think I introduced myself, I'm Shrey Takashima! Nice to meet 'cha!" Shrey said excitedly.

There it was again. The name Hanabi couldn't place where she had heard. She just _knew_ she had heard it before. She couldn't be imagining thing, if only she remembered where she had heard it. Maybe-

"Hey Hanabi what do you think? Hello you still with us?" Shrey waved his hand in front of her face cutting her train of thought.

"Hm, what?" Hanabi asked partially annoyed at being interrupted, and embarrassed to be caught spacing out.

"Should I trade my lunch with Riku's?" Shrey asked.

Hanabi groaned. "Do whatever you want. I could care less." _'What a stupid question'_ Hanabi thought

Shrey put on a face of mock hurt. "Well ok then, since you care so much I'm switching."

As he and Riku traded lunches Hanabi looked around. She was bored and was looking for something interesting going on. Out of the corner her eye she saw a flash of orange behind a corner. She turned to look only to see it was now gone. _'How strange'_ Hanabi thought.

"This is so good! Why would you even want to trade it?" Shrey exclaimed, bringing Hanabi back to earth yet again.

She sighed exasperatedly. "Let's just get back to class." She said.

* * *

Hanabi was glad the day was finally over. She walked right out the door, planning on heading straight home.

As she walked out she heard a noise coming from the other side of the exit. She turned to look at where the noise was coming from only to find a group of boys surrounding a girl with striking orange hair. She recognized the girl from her class. The boys were pushing her and it seemed like she was backing up in fear.

Hanabi's eyes widened with understanding. She immediately rushed over to the girl. Hanabi stretches her arms out as she stood of the girl in a protecting manner.

"What do you think you're doing?" Hanabi growled.

What seemed to be the leader stepped forward.

"Teaching that freak a lesson. What kind of freak can communicates with animals." He sneered.

He took a step in their direction. Hanabi took a small step back, but still held her arms out in front of the girl.

"Just go away and stop bothering her!" Hanabi yelled at him.

"What was that purple-eyed freak, you think you can tell me what to do!" The boy took another step closer to the girls. Hanabi's heart was pounding in her chest. She was scared out of her mind, but she wouldn't back down. She was protecting this girl after all.

"I'd give you a nasty look, but it seems you've already got one." Hanabi simply replied. _'Whats wrong with you! Are you_ trying _to provoke him?!'_

"Why you little...!" He said raised his fist ready to strike. Hanabi closed her eyes preparing for the blow.

"What's going on here?"

The voice made the leader stop halfway. Hanabi looked up surprised to see none other than Riku Nara standing a foot away.

"Well looks like another kindergartener showed up" he said mockingly while the other boys laughed.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that, I don't speak jerk" Riku responded.

Before he even had a chance to reply Riku punched him in the face sending him sprawling. The leader quickly got up, now with a bloody nose and forming black eye. He took one look at Riku before yelling "Retreat!" He and the other boys ran into the woods and quickly disappeared from sight.

"Are you guys ok?" Riku asked walking over to the girls. Hanabi only nodded, barely able to process what just happened. She looked over at the girl to see if she was also alright.

"I'm alright." The girl squeaked, hiding under her bangs.

"Did they hurt you?" Hanabi asked, concerned.

She shook her head. She suddenly looked up. Hanabi took this moment to notice her eyes. Grey eyes like pale smoke and cloudy skies, but with sprinkles of a vibrant green making her eyes pop. Hanabi thought they looked beautiful.

"Thank you for saving me" She timidly directed to both of them.

Riku blushed and turned away. "It was no problem."

Hanabi silently giggled at her friend's blush. _'Wait, did I just think of him as my friend? Are Riku and I friends now? Maybe I'm not failing at this whole 'make new friends' thing'_ A small smile formed on her face as she thought about her small-well, not for her-accomplishment.

"I'm Kaede Suzuki by the way." The orange haired girl introduced herself, bringing Hanabi back to the current situation.

"I'm Riku Nara, and this loud mouth over here is Hanabi Hyūga." Riku informed her.

Hanabi glared at him, but Kaede giggled shyly at the remark. Hanabi's mood was lifted by Kaede's giggling. She turned to face her.

"Want to be friends." Hanabi asked her, giving her a kind smile.

"That sounds nice." She admitted.

Hanabi's smile widened. Hanabi hadn't realized how much she had wanted to make friends here until she went and made them. It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders that she didn't even realize was there before.

"Great, well I gotta go before my dad wonders what's taking me so long." Hanabi waved to them before heading back home.

* * *

As she neared her house she saw a figure up ahead. She squinted and realized it was her sister Hinata.

"Hinata!" Hanabi called out.

The older girl stopped and turned around. Seeing it was her sister she gave her a kind smile, letting her catch up to her. When Hanabi caught up she noticed Hinata looked exhausted and worn out, her clothes were and hair were disheveled and she was covered in dirt.

"How did it go?" Hanabi asked, confused on what her sister had been doing.

Hinata smiled. "Great. We passed the test and are now official Genin." Hinata told her.

Hanabi broke out into a smile. "That's great!" Hanabi said, happy for her sister.

"What about you. How did your second day at the academy go, sorry I couldn't walk you." Hinata asked her.

"It's ok." Hanabi told her. She then proceeded to tell her all about her mostly uneventful day. She didn't mention the bullies since she knew that was a sore spot for Hinata, but she did tell her about the two new friends she made. Hinata congragulated her. They walked the rest of the way home in a peaceful silence. Hanabi soaked up the autumn colors knowing that before she knew it winter would be here.


	5. Renewed friendships and tough choices

**Disclaimer:** **I do not own Naruto. If I did there would be a lot more romance going on ;)**

 **Hi again, finally here with chapter five! I** **know** , **I know, it's been a long time since I updated. I had some writer's block, but don't worry it's gone now. I'm sorry for the delay, please don't kill me :3**

 **Please r &r! I want to hear what you all think, and please give me some constructive criticism on what I can do to make this story better. I hope you like it.**

* * *

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."  
 **—J.K.** **Rowling**

* * *

It had now been about two weeks since the beginning of school. Little by little Hanabi was getting used to the academy. Big crowds didn't scare her anymore—well, not as much as they used to—and Hanabi was quite proud of herself for that. Shrey was partially to thank for this new growing change in Hanabi. Whenever she was around him she felt calmer and opened up more (not that she noticed he had this effect on her).

After the first week, Hanabi had fallen into a routine: Walk into the school with Shrey (unless he was late, which she found was happening more often than not), pay attention to Yuuto Sensei's lecture, stare out the window, have lunch with Riku and Shrey, stare out the window some more, walk home alone, train with her father, and finally call it a day.

It was another normal day, and to Hanabi's relief, it was finally lunch. Like always, her lunch period started off like this:

"What a drag. I can't believe Yuuto Sensei gave me another detention for sleeping in class." Riku complained as he collapsed onto the bench across from Hanabi.

She rolled her eyes. " _R_ _eally,_ you didn't think he would give you a detention for that?" Riku shrugged and then proceeded to yawn as if to show he didn't care either way. Hanabi sighed in exasperation.

 _Thump._

They both looked up see Shrey plop down next to Hanabi. Wordlessly, Shrey thrust his bento towards Riku. They had been trading bento's every day since Riku had started sitting with them. But today Riku didn't reach to take his bento.

"...Trade?" Shrey asked, confused at his friend's actions, or rather, _lack_ of action.

Riku smirked as if knowing something the way-too-happy-ninja-in-training didn't. "Not today. Today I have been gifted with the ultimate food." Shrey's face lit up with curiosity at what it could be. Hanabi shook her head.

Riku started to open the lid in an excruciatingly slow manner, for what Hanabi assumed was for dramatic effect. "Ta-da!" Riku boasted, motioning to his opened bento. Hanabi thought she could see Shrey's eyes sparkle in admiration. Hanabi raised her eyebrows at the sheer idiocy of everything happening in front of her.

Suddenly, a flash of orange caught the corner of her eye. She had an odd sense of déjà vu as if something like this had happened to her before. Without a word to Shrey and Riku, she got up to go to where she had seen the orange. Not that they were paying any attention to her; Shrey was questioning Riku, in an awed expression, where he had gotten his food.

Hanabi advanced toward the edge of the academy. She turned the corner to find a girl with orange hair sitting down under a tree eating alone. As she stepped closer to her, the girl glanced at her. Hanabi stared into her pale grey eyes that had flecks of green in them. Suddenly, it clicked. _'Of course! I haven't seen her since..._ that _time.'_ Hanabi remembered. Hanabi knew she had been in the other class and had never seen her around. Admittedly, she had forgotten about her over time. _'Will she forgive me for not seeing her in so long?'_ Hanabi wondered, ashamed with herself. _'I guess there's only one way to find out.'_

"Kaede," Hanabi voiced, "long time no see." she finished, giving Kaede a friendly smile. To her surprise and relief, Kaede beamed back at her.

"Hanabi, I thought I'd never see you again," Kaede said. Hanabi expected these words, but Kaede said them without a hint of malice. This made Hanabi feel more guilty. She didn't go out of her way to see her and Kaede wasn't mad at her at all. _'She's still nice to me even though I didn't put any effort into our friendship. What kind of friend am I? I haven't got many friends, and I don't want to lose the few that I have!'_

"I'm so sorry!" Hanabi blurted out. "I should have tried to find you. I'm a terrible friend if you even still consider me your friend. If you don't mind I'd like to start over our friendship. I promise this time I'll make time for you. Please, I still want to be your friend!" She begged.

Kaede blinked. No one had ever apologized to her for not finding time for her. Kaede felt her eyes watering with tears of joy at the kindness shown by her true friend. She blinked away the tears, not wanting her friend to think she was a crybaby.

"Of course I still want to be friends with you, silly. Now, let's put this all behind us." Kaede replied with ease.

Smiling, Hanabi grabbed her hand. "Great, then let's eat lunch together."

Kaede smiled back, "Ok!"

As Hanabi dragged Kaede to her lunch spot, Hanabi began to hear people chanting. As they got closer Hanabi could make out the words in the chant.

"All hail king Riku! All hail king Riku! All hail king Riku!"

 _'Why am I not surprised. I can't leave those two alone for a minute without them causing trouble.'_ Hanabi sighed, annoyed.

Once they finally reached her lunch spot they were met with a bizarre sight. Every boy in their age was bowing to Riku, who was holding up his bento victoriously. Shrey seemed to be doing whatever he could to make Riku more comfortable and at the moment was fanning him with a big leaf. ' _Where did he even get that?'_ Hanabi thought incredulously.

Dropping Kaede's hand, she snuck up behind the two idiots and smacked the back of their heads.

"Ow." Both of them clutched their heads as they turned to face her.

"What do you two think you're doing?!" Hanabi berated them. They both gave her a cheeky smile.

"Just having some fun," Shrey responded.

"Well, the fun's over." Hanabi turned to the boys who were still bowing to Riku. She took a breath. "And all of you, go back to eating!" She commanded. Hanabi internally congratulated herself for speaking in front of a large crowd without stuttering. They all obeyed and immediately stopped chanting and went back to their tables. Riku, Shrey, Hanabi, and Kaede followed suit.

Riku looked over at Kaede and a grin spread over his features. "So we meet again, orange-haired princess." He declared before mock bowing. Kaede blushed at his name for her, but still giggled at his antics.

"Wait, who are you?" Shrey asked confusedly, having noticed Kaede for the first time.

Kaede ducked her head in embarrassment. "I'm..uh...Kaede Suzuki. I'm friends with Riku and Hanabi. Hanabi invited me to sit with you guys, I hope that's alright." She told him.

"Of course it's alright, any friend of Riku and Hanabi is a friend of mine! I'm Shrey by the way." He announced. Hanabi noticed how he didn't tell her his last name as she did. _'Just like the first time we met.'_ Hanabi recalled. _'Is he hiding something?'_ She was brought out of her thoughts when Kaede gave him a shy smile. Hanabi decided at the moment she wouldn't spend any more brain power on it and tried to push the thought out of her mind so she could enjoy her lunch.

With that, they continued their lunch with mindless chatter. They chatted until it seemed as though they had all been great friends forever. When lunch finally came to an end, they said their goodbyes, promising to eat lunch together tomorrow. Shrey, Riku, and Hanabi split off to class A, and Kaede to class B.

* * *

Hanabi gasped for air. She had been training for hours with her father, and the stress it was putting on her body was finally getting to her. _'I was born with strength that surpasses my elder sister's._ _'_ Hanabi thought in between blows. ' _This is my destiny.'_ Hanabi lunged at her father, but he easily blocked it. ' _That's why I must get stronger.'_ Hanabi thought determinedly.

Her father motioned for her to strike again. ' _More.'_ Hanabi summoned all her strength and threw a punch at him, and he easily blocked her again. _'More!'_ Then her father lunged at her. She blocked him, although with a little more trouble than before. _'MORE!'_ Now they both lunged at each other, each getting in a strike before jumping back. By now she was on her knees panting, trying to catch her breath.

Her father took one look at her before saying, "You are dismissed." Hanabi knew she heard the slight disappointment in his voice.

 _'What's wrong with me? Why am I so weak?!'_ Hanabi thought angry at herself, kicking a stone as she walked outside. Instead of heading to her room, where she would normally go after training, she decided to go to her own special spot, for even more training. _'I must get stronger, no matter what.'_ Hanabi thought.

She finally reached the tree. She used her remaining power and started punching rigorously. _'I have to get stronger! I have to!'_ She kept at it until the only sound left in the village was the cool autumn breeze. Everyone else was asleep. Hanabi threw one last punch, before going limp with exhaustion, panting as she leaned against the tree.

' _I guess I better get back.'_ Hanabi thought tiredly. She started walking back to her house, every so often leaning against the closest object to catch her breath. By the time she reached the Hyuga compound her fatigue had mostly subsided; the only way you could tell she had been training from the cuts and scratches all over her body.

Hanabi slid open the door to her room. Natsu was there waiting for her. If she was surprised she didn't show it. Natsu was the closest thing to a mother Hanabi had, her own mother being...dead. Hanabi didn't like to talk about it. Not that she knew her mother unless you counted the few minutes after her birth. Supposedly, her mother was one of the kindest people in the whole world, according to a seven-year-old Hinata. Hanabi didn't miss her mother as Hinata did. Not because she was heartless, but because she had never known their mother. To her, her mother was a vague idea. Hinata used to share stories with her about their mother. But that's all they were: stories. All Hanabi had was those stories to piece together what she thought her mother would be like. So why miss someone she never knew or loved.

Natsu raised her. Natsu taught her everything she knew. She was there for Hanabi whenever she needed her. Natsu was the kindest Hyūga Hanabi knew, besides Hinata of course. She might look stone cold, but she had to, that was the Hyūga legacy. Inside she was sweet and kind and cared for Hanabi. It didn't matter to Hanabi that they weren't blood mother and daughter, in her heart, she would always be a mother to Hanabi.

"Look at all these injuries, don't you think you're overdoing it a bit?" Natsu fretted. Hanabi watched as her motherly instincts took over and she patched up Hanabi's scratches.

Hanabi got up from her bed and crossed to the other side of her room "It's not possible to overdue. I must do whatever it takes to protect the Hyūga clan." Hanabi responded in a monotone voice. _'I must get stronger for the Hyūga.'_

Natsu paused. _'She's so young, but carries such a heavy burden.'_ An uncomfortable silence passed between them before Natsu quickly changed the subject.

"Oh, I almost forgot, it seems Lady Hinata is doing very well as a Genin. I hear she'll be taking the chunin exams." Natsu said in a brighter tone trying to lighten the mood.

"Chunin exams?" Hanabi asked, turning to face Natsu.

"That's right. It's a test one must pass in order to be promoted from genin to chunin rank. But I understand it's quite rigorous. There are even fatalities."

' _Fatalities?!'_ Hanabi thought worriedly, though tried to hide her shock. _'What...'_ She looked at the floor. "What is the point in doing something like that?" She asked herself, turning to lean on her desk chair.

"Lady Hanabi," Natsu watched nervously.

Hanabi bowed her head. "I'm fine. You can go now."

Natsu nodded. "Goodnight Lady Hanabi." She turned off the lights before silently closing the door behind her.

Hanabi laid down on her bed, not bothering to get under the covers. _'There are even fatalities.'_ The words echoed in Hanabi's head. _'Why would big sister Hinata_ choose _to do something that might cause her pain? What is the point when she is destined for failure?'_ Hanabi rolled over. She couldn't comprehend her big sister's decision. ' _She keeps going even though everyone has turned their back on her.'_ Hanabi drifted off into a restless sleep as she tried to make sense of her sister's choice.


	6. Test of friendship

**Disclaimer** : **I do not own Naruto, if I did then Shikamaru and Tamari would definitely get more screen time!**

 **Hi again! Sorry for the delay, but I guess better late than never...*chuckles awkwardly* I had some trouble writing this chapter, so I hope it turned out ok.**

 **Please read and review! I want to hear your thoughts and opinions. Tell me any constructive criticism you have for me since this is my first story. And don't forget compliments ;)**

* * *

"Their relationship was built on friendship, and in matters of friendship he was boundlessly loyal. It was a relationship that would survive the harshest test."  
 **— Stieg Larsson**

* * *

Gradually coming back to life, Hanabi turned over on her bed. The cool air made her shiver, and she reached for her blanket for protection. Coming up with nothing, she inched open one eye.

 _'Why is my blanket_ under _me?'_ She thought groggily. Rolling over to the side of her bed, being too lazy to actually get off her bed, she yanked her blanket out from under her. Placing it over herself she pressed the side of her face into her pillow. It felt as though she didn't get _any_ sleep last night.

 _'Please don't tell me it's morning already,'_ she internally pleaded. Reluctantly, Hanabi sat up a little so she could glance out her window. Seeing that the sun hadn't risen _just_ yet, she laid back down.

 _'Good, I'll_ _just_ _rest_ _my_ _eyes_ _a_ _bit_ _longer_ _before_ _I_ _get_ _out_ _of_ _bed_. _Yeah_ , _that's_ _it...'_

What seemed like only minutes later, to Hanabi's annoyance, she felt a light prodding on her back. "Just a few more minutes." She mumbled into her pillow.

"Hanabi, you're already running late," Hinata informed her. The part of Hanabi that strived to be a good student forced her to sit up immediately.

"What, I am?!" In her haste to get out of bed, she tangled herself up in her blankets. Trying to untangle herself, she rolled off the bed and hit the floor.

"Ow." Her muffled voice came from under her blanket.

Hearing a light tinkle sound, Hanabi smiled knowing Hinata was giggling at her. "Hey, it's not funny!" she pouted. There was one last tinkle before Hinata unwrapped Hanabi from her cocoon.

Hanabi looked up to see Hinata smiling fondly at her. Scowling, Hanabi tried to hide her own smile as she crossed the room to her dresser.

"The chunin exams start today," Hinata stated softly from behind her.

Hanabi could tell from her voice that her elder sister was nervous. This, Hanabi was not surprised about, but there was something else: resolve. This further puzzled Hanabi. _'_ _Why are you making yourself do this when you know you will fail?!'_ Hanabi wanted so badly to ask her this, but she held her tongue. After all, what good would come from her yelling at her elder sister? She had already made her decision.

Instead, all Hanabi said was, "Oh," she looked at the floor, "stay safe."

Hinata smiled at her. "I will. Well, we should get going, you don't want to be late."

Hanabi nodded. "Ok, I'm ready," she said while slipping on her sandals.

"The exam is being held at the academy, so I'll walk with you," Hinata told her.

Hanabi nodded in response.

Hinata opened the door to Hanabi's room, and they both stepped outside. As Hinata started walking toward the compound exit, Hanabi rushed into the kitchen. Not seeing anything particularly appetizing, she grabbed an apple before jogging back out to meet up with her sister.

The two continued on to the academy in silence. Not that it was an uncomfortable silence, per se, more like what more could be said between a sister who had been discarded from the clan and the sister who caused the discarding? As much as it pained Hanabi that things were like this, she knew it was the way things were meant to be.

The silence left Hanabi alone with her thoughts, which completely revolved around Hinata's participation in the chunin exams. She felt as though she was missing something.

 _'Why? Why would anyone choose to do this? She knows her fate is to be a failure, so then why? What does she hope to achieve by participating in the chunin exams? By participating, she could get hurt, or worse die.'_

Hanabi sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

 _'I don't understand her.'_

"Ok, Hanabi, I have to go meet up with Shino and Kiba. Have a great day."

Still absorbed in her thoughts, Hanabi could only nod distractedly.

She continued on to the academy. Throwing her apple up absentmindedly, she was brought out of her own world when a hand snatched the fruit.

"G'morning," came Shrey's muffled voice as he bit into her apple.

Hanabi's eyes narrowed.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Shrey snickered. Most likely at the scary tone she was using. If it was even possible, Hanabi's eyes narrowed more. That was the last straw! First, he stole her food—her _food—_ Then, he had the audacity to laugh at her. She was gonna tear him limb from li—

"What are you getting so upset about?" he chuckled as her eyes turned darker, "It's just one bite, you can eat the rest." He threw it back to her.

Catching it, Hanabi was stuck on the thought of eating from the same apple as Shrey. Being an heiress from an old and respectable clan like the Hyūga, Hanabi had never had to share food with anyone. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't even shared food with her family. Her family was...well, a nice word for it would be distant. They all kept their respective distance from one another. Well, besides her and Hinata before she became an heiress. In short, her family had never been one for playfully stealing food off each other's plates.

She turned the apple over in her hands uncomfortably. If she couldn't share food with her family, was it really ok to share this apple with Shrey?

 _'I mean, we_ are _friends, so it wouldn't be weird. Doing this just shows how much closer we've gotten, so it's...fine if I do it.'_

With that thought, Hanabi took a big bite out of the apple, putting an end to her confusing thoughts. She finally looked up. Having been so caught up in contemplating her decision of whether to eat or not to eat, Hanabi didn't notice that she and Shrey had already reached their homeroom.

"C'mon, Hanabi, over here!" Shrey yelled from their usual spot.

Hanabi casually walked over to the two boys, one being overly excited, and the other being asleep.

As Hanabi sat down between the two, she noticed something different about the blackboard. Today, instead of having the usual lesson for the day written out, the board was completely blank.

Confused, Hanabi turned to face Shrey, "What do you think it means?" she asked nodding towards the board.

Before Shrey could answer, a voice came from the desk in front of them, "It means we finally get to fight!"

Both Hanabi and Shrey turned their attention toward the person who had spoken. Looking down, Hanabi scanned the girl in front of them. She was tan, with milk chocolate brown eyes, and messy, burnt umber-colored hair. There were also red tattoos on both of her cheeks in the shape of triangles. Hanabi also noticed that while most of the other students had started to sit with their friends, the girl before them sat all alone.

"Who are you?" Shrey asked bluntly. Hanabi almost smacked her forehead for how forward he was, but she too was wondering the same thing.

As the girl opened her mouth to answer, Yuuto sensei strolled into the classroom. Almost immediately, everyone stopped talking to their friends and turned to face their sensei.

"Good morning, everyone. Glad to see you're all here on time today." He eyed Shrey at the last part, while Shrey just lightly whistled and looked out the window, acting like he hadn't heard.

"Good morning, Yuuto sensei." The class chorused.

"Today, we will be having sparring matches with class B." Yuuto sensei announced.

Hanabi froze. One word echoing in her mind.

' _sparring' 'sparring' 'sparring'_

 _The classroom faded away, and Hanabi found herself standing in the middle of the Hyūga compound. Her father before her and her sister to her left._

 _"You will be sparring against each other. It is time to see who is fit to become the heiress of the Hyūga."_

 _With that, her father also faded away. Now, it was just her and Hinata._

 _Suddenly, They were both jumping to attack each other. The hit landed. All Hanabi could see was her bloodied sister on the ground. And then, she too faded away._

 _Now, Hanabi was left all alone. The compound turned into complete blackness. She sank to her knees. What was she to do now?_

"Hanabi. Hanabi! hey, we're leaving."

Hanabi looked up to find Shrey grinning confusedly at her. She managed a weak smile back.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming" Hanabi waved him away.

Though, as she got up from her seat, her knees wobbled a bit. She looked to see if Shrey noticed, but thankfully he was already walking away.

 _'There's no reason to be nervous'_ Hanabi tried to soothe herself. _'It's not like I'll be fighting anyone I know.'_ Her words of comfort seemed to work as she was able to walk normally again.

Catching up to Shrey, she realized there was one thing she didn't know.

"Shrey, where are we going?" Hanabi asked.

Shrey laughed. "Were you listening to _anything_ Sensei said?" Hanabi blushed. "We need an open space to fight each other so we're going outside." He explained with a 'duh' voice.

"I was listening! I was just...uh, preoccupied." She tried to defend herself.

"Haha, yeah, _riiiiiiight._ "

Hanabi pouted.

"I _was_!" Hanabi tried to convince him but to no avail.

* * *

"This is how we're going to do this. We're going to call you up by name. You may be from different classes, or you may be from the same class. The list is random. When we call your name we want you to step into the center of the circle. You will wait to start fighting until we say begin. Only until your opponent's bottom is on the ground will we consider it a victory. Everyone understand?"

There were a collection affirmative mumbles, but most of the kids were eyeing the kids from the other class. Some out of curiosity, while others looked like they were sizing up potential enemies.

"Ugh, they all look like amateurs. This is gonna be less fun than I thought."

Hanabi turned to find the girl complaining was the same girl she and Shrey had spoken to earlier.

"Well, that will just make it easier for us to stand out, right?" Hanabi shocked herself with her aloof response to a girl she didn't know. She usually wasn't all that comfortable talking to strangers.

There was a moment of silence, and for a second, Hanabi thought she had been too arrogant, but then the girl laughed.

"Ya know what, I like you." She said while clapping Hanabi on the shoulder.

Hanabi grinned back.

"Oh yeah, I didn't catch your name. I'm Hanabi Hyūga." Hanabi informed her.

"Nice to meet 'cha. I'm Kiara Inu—" Suddenly, she was interrupted by a group of squealing girls trampling over them in order to get to the other side of the crowd.

"What the hell?!" Hanabi's new friend (if you could call her that yet) yelled.

Hanabi, equally confused, tried to scan the crowd for what they were getting so excited over. But being a tad short for her age, she couldn't see over the countless girls' heads. Standing on her tiptoes, she tried to catch a glimpse of what was going on, when Kiara scoffed beside her.

"What is it?" Hanabi question, going back down on the heels of her feet.

"A boy." She grunted out, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.

This time, when Hanabi stood on her tiptoes, she actually had something—err, some _one—_ to look for. Searching the crowd for a boy, she found one right in the center of the girls. She couldn't really tell from here, but she couldn't see anything special about him that would warrant this behavior.

Puzzled, Hanabi asked Kiara, "What's the big deal?"

A girl from the crowd with blue streaks in her hair turned to them.

"What do you mean 'what's the big deal'? It's obvious it's because Tamaki is so cute and cool."

"Oh, of course." Kiara nodded sarcastically as if she understood completely. Hanabi giggled.

"Whatever," The girl rolled her emerald green eyes at them as if she shouldn't have wasted her time trying to explain and turned back to face same as the others.

"Quiet down, everyone! We will now begin!" The Sensei from class B yelled.

The kids obeyed, and the talking simmered to whispering amongst each other.

While the first two kids were called, Hanabi felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning to look behind her, she found herself face to face with Riku. He looked tired as alway.

"Ugh, this is such a pain. If we were still in the classroom at least I could sleep, but out here I have to _stand."_ He said the last word as if even the thought of doing it pained him. Hanabi rolled her eyes at him.

"I say better to be out here than in that stuffy classroom all day long. At least this way we get _some_ sort of exercise. Lord knows without this you would fall into an eternal slumber." Hanabi countered. This time, it was Riku's turn to roll his eyes.

Hanabi heard a light giggling next to her. She looked over to see Kaede standing next to her. Kaede gave a small shy wave.

"Hey," She whispered to them. They both whispered a 'hey' back.

Hanabi looked over at Kiara, who she realized was standing to the side awkwardly. Hanabi mentally slapped her forehead for forgetting to introduce everyone.

"Riku, Kaede," She said, grabbing the attention of her two friends who had started their own conversation, "this is Kiara." She motioned to the brown-haired girl. "Kiara, this is Riku and Kaede." She pointed to them when she said their names.

Kaede gave a shy smile, and Riku nodded his head in acknowledgment.

Kiara waved, whispering a "Nice to meet 'cha,"

"Likewise," Riku whispered back.

The group fell silent as they began to watch the matches. Hanabi soon grew bored as she quickly realized that almost everyone didn't know how to fight. This continued for a while until finally, Yuuto Sensei called, "Kiara Inuzuka vs. Tamaki Ishida."

Kiara smirked, quite a feat for an eight-year-old, happy she could finally show off her skills.

"Well, I'm off," she said to them as she wiggled her way through the crowd.

 _'Inuzuka. I think that's the clan that breeds dogs. I'm pretty sure that's the clan Elder sister's teammate comes from. Huh, well I guess it makes sense.'_ Hanabi thought as she thought of Kiara's characteristics.

"What a _savage."_ A girl near Hanabi whispered to her friend.

"I heard she eat with her _bare hands."_ The friend whispered back.

"I heard she hunts animals with her _bare teeth."_ The original girl replied. The friend made a disgusted face.

Hanabi tried to ignore them, and instead looked over at the match. She found that the match hadn't started yet, and the two in the center were arguing.

"What are you gonna do about it, pretty boy." Kiara mocked

"Big talk from someone who's about to lose." The boy arrogantly responded. Hanabi took this chance to size him up.

The boy, a little shorter than Kiara, was a great deal paler. He had syrup colored hair and eyes the color of diamonds. Hanabi had to admit she could kinda see why all the girls went gaga over him.

"Hey, Kaede, Tamaki's in your class, right? What's he like?"

Hearing no response, Hanabi turned to find Kaede beet red.

"He's...uh...a little...uh...arrogant, but for the most part cold to everyone." Kaede finally managed to tell Hanabi.

"Who does she think she is, talking to our Tamaki like that." A different girl than before whispered to the girl next to her, close enough to Hanabi and Kaede that they stopped their conversation to listen in.

"Yeah. Has she even seen a brush before?" The two girls giggled together. Hanabi was about to speak up on Kiara's behalf when Riku beat her to the punch.

"Hey, you're disturbing the rest of us who are actually watching the match instead of giggling like idiots. So if you could please keep your idiotic comments to yourself that would be great." He effectively shut them up, as they were either too shocked or embarrassed to respond.

Hanabi felt a little proud, lately realizing how he was usually the first one to jump to someone's defense, even if barely knew the person. He was caring even if he didn't like to show it.

Hanabi turned her attention back to the match. Tamaki and Kiara were providing pretty good entertainment as they were the first match where both the competitors knew how to fight.

The two continuously swung their fisted at each other, but each swing was perfectly blocked. They seemed to be a good match power wise.

The match went on for a while, compared to the others, until finally, Kiara swung her leg right above Tamaki's feet, knocking him to the ground.

"Well, whaddya know," Kiara panted, "you actually got some skills, pretty boy." she paused to pant some more, "Just not enough to beat me." She finished, still out of breath.

She offered him her hand, but he ignored it, instead opting to get up on his own.

"Yeah, whatever. Next time I'll beat you." He vowed.

"In your dreams." She returned. Little did everyone know that this would start a never-ending rivalry between the two. Well, everyone could pretty much guess as much.

"Kiara Inuzuka wins." Yuuto Sensei announced.

With that, Kiara smugly walked back to Hanabi, Riku, and Kaede.

"Nice job." Hanabi congratulated her.

"Thanks." Kiara grinned brightly at her.

* * *

After Kiara's match against Tamaki, the matches continued in their boring manner.

Riku won his match against a boy named Ashinga Tataka, And Kaede had lost her match against the girl with blue streaks in her hair that she and Kiara were talking to earlier. Hanabi found out her name was Taura Matsui.

Truth be told, Hanabi was both nervous and excited for her match. Though, she mostly just wanted to get it over with.

She also noticed that Shrey hadn't been called up yet. She was a little curious as to how he would fare.

Watching a blond haired boy knock another boy to the ground with a punch, Hanabi sighed, figuring it would be a while until her match.

She crossed her arms as Yuuto Sensei announced the winner.

"Hanabi Hyūga vs. Shrey Takashima." Yuuto sensei read off his clipboard, surprising Hanabi.

Hanabi sharply took in a breath.

 _Thump. Thump. Thump._

Time seemed to stop. All Hanabi could hear was her heart beating in her chest. Her eyes wandered over the students before connecting with turquoise ones. As they stared at each other, Hanabi felt something in her chest tighten.

She had to fight her friend. Her first friend—wait, when did she even start thinking of that idiot as her friend? She knew they hadn't known each other for long, but she didn't want to lose the budding relationship she had with him. Especially not over a stupid fight.

 _'I can't do it. I can't. I Should tell Yuuto sensei that I forfeit.'_

Her mind was set. She was about to call out to Yuuto sensei when a voice rang out.

"Okay! Let's do this thing."

Hanabi's eyes snapped toward the cause of her distress. It took her a moment for her to process his words.

 _'Why t-that little! Here I am all worried about ruining our friendship when he doesn't have a care in the world! Fine then, two can play at that game.'_

Plastering a smirk on her face to hide her slight hurt from his comment, she snarked, "Fine. Just don't hate me when you lose." Although her taunting tone was meant to annoy him, there was a small pleading undertone to her words.

Hanabi sighed. What was this day coming to? Stepping into the center of the circle, she faced an unreadable Shrey.

"Just because you have the Byakugan, don't think you'll win."

Hanabi was shocked. How could he think she thought that? She also noted in the back of her mind that he somehow knew what the Byakugan was.

"Enough talk, begin!" Yuuto Sensei yelled.

Hanabi waited for a moment to strike, thinking about how she was about to fight her friend and how this was actually happening.

At the same time, Hanabi and Shrey lunged for each other. Blocking a punch aimed for her face, Hanabi tried to hit a pressure point on his arm but was quickly blocked by Shrey. Shrey fought back, aiming a punch for her stomach. Hanabi responded automatically by dodging and aiming to attack the pressure points near his heart.

They continued on like this for a few minutes. One of them would try to attack the other, but it wouldn't manage to land, and the other would launch a counter-attack with the same result.

Hanabi, getting a little worn out, decided to try to put an end to it with a palm aimed right for the chest, the center of the chakra network. It wouldn't permanently damage Shrey, so Hanabi knew it was okay to hit him with it, but she still felt uneasy.

As she launched her final attack she watched as Shrey tried to counter. His arms swung around in an attempt to twist her arm away from him. But just as he was about to stop her, his eyes flickered yellow, and Shrey to lost his footing a little.

And just like that, Hanabi's palm landed on its intended target.

Hanabi found herself staring at Shrey as lay on the floor, some blood dripping from his mouth.

It was her worst fear come true.

' _He is going to hate me. He is going to hate me. He is going to hate me.'_

Hanabi nervously repeated this thought in her mind as she held her hand out to Shrey.

There was a moment of silence, and Hanabi feared he wouldn't take her hand as Tamaki had done.

' _This is it. He hates me for sure.'_ Hanabi thought.

It was to her surprise when she felt his hand clasp onto hers. Relief washed over Hanabi. She carefully lifted him to his feet.

' _He doesn't hate me. At least, I don't think so...'_

They walked into the crowd as Yuuto Sensei announced Hanabi as the winner.

Hanabi and Shrey stood in the crowd in silence. Hanabi nervously thinking about all the horrible ways Shrey would reject their friendship, and Shrey, well, Hanabi couldn't tell what he was doing, but he looked deep in thought.

The rest of the matches were a blur to Hanabi. Someone could have dumped a bucket of water on her and she still wouldn't have noticed.

When Yuuto Sensei and the other sensei finally dismissed them, Hanabi barely heard them.

Shrey began walking, so Hanabi quickly followed him. She tried to build up her courage to talk to him.

 _'Just ask him. Just do it.'_

"Shrey," she tried carefully, "are we...are we good?" She asked tentatively.

There was a pause before Shrey turned to her with a huge smile on his face.

"Of course!" He answered. Hanabi breathed a sigh of relief. Her whole body let go of all the tension she didn't know had. She could finally relax.

"But on a serious note, " This caught Hanabi's attention.

 _'Oh no, what is he going to say?'_ Hanabi thought worriedly.

"I promise to one day make you see that it doesn't matter where you come from or who you are, you can always change your fate!" He declared.

Hanabi was surprised, but not in a bad way. Out of all the things she imagined he'd say, this was hardly the worst.

"We'll see about that," Hanabi said, not convinced.

"Well, I have the rest of our lives to try!" Shrey excitedly replied.

 _'The rest of our...lives'_

Hanabi's chest swelled. That meant that they were going to friends for a long time. And for some reason, Hanabi found herself extremely happy about that.

"What, you didn't think one spar would ruin our friendship, did you?" Shrey laughed.

Hanabi blushed, embarrassed.

"No, of course not." She mumbled.

'Hanabi, no matter what happens let's always stay friends, okay?" Shrey asked.

"Okay," Hanabi muttered.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Shrey cupped his ear with his hand pretending he hadn't heard her.

A vein bulged in Hanabi's forehead.

"I said we'll stay friends for forever so too bad if you get sick of me!" Hanabi yelled.

Hanabi paused, realizing what she just said. Then, her whole face turned red.

"I mean, uh—" Hanabi fumbled with her words.

"Great! That's what I thought you said!" Shrey gave her a toothy grin that Hanabi couldn't help smiling brightly back at, even if she was annoyed at his smart ass answer.

"Well, see you tomorrow!" Shrey spoke brightly, waving her goodbye. Hanabi did the same.

Thinking back on the day, Hanabi couldn't help but smile. For some reason, whenever she was around that idiot, she always ended being happier than before. And for some reason, Hanabi was okay with that.

 _'Friends for forever'_ Hanabi mused. The thought made her heart swell.


	7. Friendship in Darkness

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasuke and Naruto would definitely get some action as more than just friends. *wink* *wink***

 **Hi, again! Happy Holidays! I'm sorry I haven't updated for a loooooooong while, but it's here now. This chapter was a little difficult to write, so I hope you still like it. Just a heads up, this chapter is a bit sad.**

 **Please r &r! I love to hear your constructive criticism, so make sure to give me lots of it. Compliments would be nice too :3**

 **I also want to hear what you guys think the dream is about!**

 **Ok, without further ado, here's chapter seven:**

* * *

"Close friends are truly life's treasures. Sometimes they know us better than we know ourselves. With gentle honesty, they are there to guide and support us, to share our laughter and our tears. Their presence reminds us that we are never really alone."

 **―** **Vincent Van Gogh**

* * *

 _Hanabi, her heart thumping in her ears,_ _lay sprawled out on the sheets of her bed_ _. The beating of her heart screamed in the silence as s_ _he lay there for a moment longer with her head in her pillow._

 _Suddenly, the door opened._

Hanabi's eyes shot open. She gathered her surroundings. Sitting up to peer out her window, she could guess it was about five-thirty in the morning. _Way_ too early to be up on a weekend, in Hanabi's opinion. It wouldn't get her anywhere, she knew, but Hanabi rested her head back down on her pillow, wanting to at least attempt falling back to sleep. She could feel her sweat rub off on the soft fabric.

For the past week, right after Shrey and Hanabi's mock spar, Hanabi began having this strange reoccurring dream. But every single time she awakened from her dream-riddled slumber, she could not for the life of her remember the dream. It greatly frustrated Hanabi that she could not do something as simple as recalling a dream no matter how hard she tried to force her noggin to remember.

Closing her eyes, Hanabi tried to fall back to sleep even though she knew the outcome would almost certainly be the same as always. Nonetheless, she tried to find a comfortable position. First, on her stomach with her hand under her pillow. ' _This is good. I'll definitely fall asleep now.'_ Hanabi thought, trying to convince herself. But, as always, Hanabi couldn't seem to stop running the last part of the dream through her head. That being the only part she remembered.

 _'What does it mean?'  
_

For the past week, she asked herself the same question every night. Ever since she started having this cursed dream.

When Hanabi was much younger, from time to time she couldn't fall asleep. When that happened, she would go to Hinata's room and sleep with her for the night. Hinata never complained when Hanabi showed up in her room very late at night or early in the morning. There was something about knowing Hinata was there to protect her that let Hanabi forget all her worries and sleep soundly. It was like she had her own guardian angel to watch over her as she slept, making sure no harm would come to her. The thought comforted Hanabi.

Although, she wouldn't be able to do that now. Hinata had been gone for the past week for the chunin exams. According to Natsu, it was some sort of survival test in a place called The Forest of Death—a name that made a shiver run down Hanabi's spine upon hearing it. Though even if Hinata was here, Hanabi doubted she would seek solace from her. Their relationship was too complicated. At the moment they were on good terms with each other, but it wasn't like before their...fight. Their relationship had broken and been put back together, but it wasn't the same as before. And Hanabi wasn't sure if it ever would be.

But that didn't matter now. All that mattered was Hanabi would become the leader of the Hyuga. She would follow her destiny. And she couldn't let trivial things such as her fragmented relationship with her sister come between her and her fate.

 _'It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter.'_

Hanabi tried to ignore the feeling of her heart breaking into more pieces.

Soon, Hanabi felt the urge to curl up on her side. At first, she resisted, knowing switching positions would do her no good and would only wake her up more. But after a moment or two, she caved to the request of her body, turning on her side. More moments passed before Hanabi grew uncomfortable again. She mentally groaned, knowing this was how the rest of the early morning would go.

* * *

Hanabi, after tossing and turning for hours, finally decided to get out of bed. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Sighing, she gently placed her small feet on the cold wooden floor. It was going to be a long day.

The floor creaked under Hanabi as she made her way from her room to the kitchen. Opening the door to the kitchen, which also creaked, Hanabi found a small table with four chairs seated next to it, a fridge, pantry, and countertop staring back at her. Everything sparkly clean, as always. She preferred to eat in the small kitchen, rather than the vastness that was the dining room.

When Hanabi was younger, she would have breakfast with the side branches of the clan along with Natsu in the dining room. Those were the good days. Everyone was chatting with each other and joking around. And Natsu would always include her in the conversation she was having. Hanabi much preferred the loud and happy breakfasts to the cold and uncomfortable dinners she was forced to have with the head family.

But it all ended one day. A day that stood out from the others. Hanabi clearly remembered it despite the fact that she scarcely remembered much else at that age.

The day was the first of many to remind her that she would be forever alone.

* * *

 _Panting, Hanabi sat down at the head of the table, where she usually sat, after Natsu pulled the chair out for her. She happened to have overslept that morning and rushed to get to breakfast before all the food was gone. Hanabi didn't notice the room grow quiet when she arrived._

 _Hanabi smiled sheepishly at Natsu as a way to apologize for her tardiness. Natsu just smiled sweetly back as if to say none of that mattered. Hanabi's heart warmed, thinking that Natsu was too good to her._

 _Then, Natsu turned her head to continue her conversation with the lady next to her. I_ _mmediately, people started going back to their conversations, which Hanabi, of course, didn't notice._ _No one ever talked to Hanabi. Though, she didn't mind. And Natsu, considerate as she was, always tried to include Hanabi in her own conversation. But, truthfully, Hanabi was content with listening to the others converse. Seeing the happy faces of others while they shared tales from their missions made Hanabi herself happy._

 _"So, Hanabi," Natsu began, "I was just saying how this winter is the harshest winter The Hidden Leaf Village has ever had. It has even snowed all of this week. Isn't that amaz—"_

 _"Oh, cut it out already!" a lady sitting at the other end of the table interrupted. Silence fell once again._ _"We all know what happened last night—we're all thinking it!"_

 _"That's_ enough, _Harue," Natsu warned with a glare in her direction._

 _"No, I don't think it is! Last night, the Head Family moved the age of branding children with the caged bird up two years. Our own children suffer while she," pointing an accusing finger at Hanabi who watched the scene scared and bewildered, "sits here unscathed with the world at her feet! My child..." She let out a strangled sob._

 _Regaining her composure, she continued with her rant._ _"_ We _suffer while_ she _sits here acting as though everything is fine! Well, it's not fine!_ Nothing _is fine_ _!"_

 _"Harue, she is only a child. Stop this madness." Natsu argued._

 _"When will you finally see, Natsu. She is one of_ them. She _is the problem." Her voice dripped with venom. All of it aimed at Hanabi._

 _Hanabi sat still, taking it all in. It seemed as though the world was closing in on her. She didn't miss the whispers and the mutters of how,_

 _"She's a spoiled brat,"_

 _"She's a she-devil,"_

 _"She's just like_ them,"

 _The words swirled around in her mind, faster and faster until everyone seemed to be screaming at her. For being ignorant. For not being better. For being born into the main branch family. Darkness engulfed her._

* * *

 _After that, Natsu told her it would be easier if she ate on her own because of her tendency to wake up later than the rest and Natsu having to go wake her up. It was kind of Natsu to tell her that lie, but Hanabi knew the truth. She was not wanted there._

 _The first day she ate without them, when she had gotten to the dining room, it was silent and deserted. She sat at the head of the table like usual. But this time, there were no people conversing. And no Natsu to include her in conversation. She sat there alone. Complete silence, albeit for the occasional clinking of her spoon against her bowl. From then on, Hanabi ate in the kitchen, realizing that staring at dozens of empty seats in the morning would not be good for her health._

 _Even at that age, Hanabi knew. She_ knew. S _he was born an outcast._

* * *

Hanabi shook her head, trying to rid herself of her dark thoughts. But the word _outcast_ lingered in her mind. She was born an outcast to a clan she was now supposed to protect. How ironic was that? Hanabi chuckled humorlessly to herself. But this was the way it had to be. And Hanabi would protect the Hyuga no matter what. It was her fate.

Hanabi chose to ignore the sharp pain in her heart. There was no point in thinking about this. This was just another weakness she needed to forget, so she could be strong. Because she couldn't afford not to be. For the Hyuga, she had to be strong.

 _'It doesn't matter It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter.'_

Hanabi stabbed her cereal, not having much of an appetite anymore. Still, breakfast was an important part of the day, so Hanabi reluctantly finished the rest. After washing her bowl and putting it away, Hanabi wondered how she should spend her time. After all, it wasn't often she was given the day off from training with her father.

Stepping outside, Hanabi took in the view of the Hyuga compound. With the sun shining down from the clear sky, the trees swaying in the breeze, and no one bustling around, the Hyuga compound looked serene. Some might even say beautiful. But not to Hanabi. All she could see was bad memories taking place here. No, not beautiful. Not at all.

She ambled back to her room, quickly changing into her training clothes and slipping on her sandals. As she stepped out of the Hyuga compound, she heard a familiar voice call from behind her,

"Lady Hanabi, where are you going?" Hanabi turned around to find Natsu gazing at her questioningly.

"Just out to train for a bit. Don't worry, I'll be back soon," Hanabi reassured her.

Natsu looked unconvinced. However, she replied, "Of course. Just be careful." Hanabi nodded in agreement, which Natsu seemed to content herself with as she smiled and said, "Well, then have fun," and continued with carrying the laundry to be washed.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Hanabi continued to her special training spot. As time passed, it looked as though Natsu was getting more concerned with the amount of time Hanabi spent training. Hanabi could tell from how she not-so-subtly displayed this displeasure. Like the other day, when Natsu was informing her about the chunin exams. It felt like she was trying to convince Hanabi to take it easy.

But Hanabi didn't have time to take it easy. She needed to get stronger. Much stronger in order to fulfill her destiny. She couldn't afford to be weak. There was no time or reason to think of things that would only bring her down. She couldn't let _stuff like this_ bring her down.

Without realizing it, Hanabi had already reached her destination.

She lifted her fist to punch the tree.

The image of her sister on the ground after their spar flashed across her mind.

 _'It doesn't matter.'_

Next came the image of the lady, who was part of the branch family, yelling at Hanabi.

' _It. Doesn't. Matter.'_

Finally, the image of shadows of figures surrounding her, engulfing her, telling her to be better, do better. Trying to make her into this perfect image of what she had to be because that's what everyone expected of her.

' _It. Doesn't. Matter!'_

A moment passed before a soft crack sounded. Hanabi kept her forehead laid against the tree. Her forearms resting above her, parallel to each other. Her hands in fists as if trying to keep up the facade of strength.

Why couldn't she just be better? Why did she have to...to be the way she was? What was the point of her being the Hyuga heiress?

' _Why was I chosen to be the heiress_ _? I'm not strong enough.'_

Hanabi could feel the tears coming. Her whole face was warm, and there was a lump in her throat as if trying to prevent the inevitable. She wanted to curl up in a ball of pain.

She could hear the back of her mind whisper, ' _it's too much.'_

But she pushed the thought away. She couldn't succumb to these wants. She couldn't waste time on tears. That only showed weakness. And Hanabi wasn't weak. She had to stay stro—

Without warning, she was flooded with warmth when she felt two arms wrap around her body and a head laid against her back in some sort of embrace.

Hanabi's eyes widened.

"You can cry," a voice mumbled against her back. "You can cry now." Right away, Hanabi recognized Shrey's voice.

For so long Hanabi had to keep these feelings in the dark. Pretend like nothing was wrong. Stay strong because that's what she always had to be. It was like as soon as Shrey said those words, something snapped in Hanabi. Everything she had bottled up to this moment—she could finally let go of it.

"I know it hurts," he whispered, "but I'm here with you now. You're not alone anymore."

Hanabi turned around, unwilling to look Shrey in the eye, and wrapped her arms around his body. He held her tightly as she trembled, crying into his shirt. No sound was emitting from her as she silently shook.

"It's ok," Shrey murmured, "I'm here."

After a while, Hanabi ran out of tears to cry. She no longer shook, but Shrey still held on tight to her. As if the moment he let go Hanabi would fall back into the darkness. But Hanabi wouldn't let that happen. Shrey had given her strength. She knew she was no longer alone in this darkness.

After what seemed like an eternity, Hanabi slowly detangled herself from Shrey's hold.

Hanabi's pale puffy eyes met Shrey's bright turquoise ones. They stared at each other without speaking a moment longer.

Hanabi glanced down and opened her mouth to speak, only to be beaten to the punch by Shrey.

"It's ok. I get it. You don't have to say anything." Shrey reassured.

Hanabi gave a soft smile to show she was grateful. Shrey's eye's widened slightly then went back to normal, which went unnoticed by Hanabi. He smiled widely in return.

"So...you wanna train together today?" Shrey asked cheerily. Suddenly, the dark and dreary mood from before was lifted.

"Sure, but don't blame me when you get your butt kicked," Hanabi teased happily.

"We'll see about who's gonna get their butt kicked." Shrey responded in the same manner.

"And, Shrey," He blinked at her, "thank you." her face was hidden by her hair, and her cheeks were tinted a rosy pink.

"Of course! That's what friends are for, right!" Shrey confidently stated.

And with that out of the way, they got into their fighting stances. Shrey lunged at Hanabi, aiming a punch to her gut. Hanabi swiftly deflected the attack and launched her own. A foot aimed to his face. Shrey jumped back to avoid it. He tried to uppercut, but Hanabi narrowly dodged it. This went on for ten or fifteen minutes until they both had their hands on their knees, panting.

Then, once they had both recovered, which had taken a little longer because of Hanabi to her embarrassment, they continued to spar against each other.

The sun was beginning to set, making the sky turn a pinkish-orange color when they had just finished their fifth or sixth match (they had lost track at this point).

"Another," Shrey paused to breathe, "round?"

"Why not? But you sure you can handle another defeat?" Hanabi responded.

"I'm sorry, who's the one being defeated?" Shrey mockingly put his hand to his ear.

But before they could begin their next match, a voice called out, "Lady Hanabi, there's terrible news!" Hanabi turned her attention to an out of breath Natsu.

Natsu eyed Shrey questioningly.

 _'Looks like she's made friends. That's good, I was starting to get worried. I hope he's a good friend to Hanabi. I wonder what clan he's from, or if he's a civillian,'_ Natsu thought, trying to get a better look at him.

But Shrey had already started walking away.

"Bye, Hanabi. See you around." He called back, without turning around.

"Yeah, see you," Hanabi responded cheerfully.

"Lady Hanabi," Natsu said. Hanabi quickly turned to face her, as if she had forgotten Natsu had been there. "We have to get going. Your sister is waiting for us."

Hanabi had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

"She should have expected this outcome if she chose to go up against Neji," Grandfather stated in a monotone voice.

The gears slowly turned in Hanabi's head. She must have battled Neji, and that's what put her in this poor state.

 _'Elder Sister Hinata...'_

"Why didn't you just withdraw?" Hanabi asked Hinata, perplexed.

"I couldn't do that. I'm quite aware of exactly what I am, you know. An indecisive failure. I know that I can change, watching Naruto makes me think so," Hinata asserted.

 _'Naruto,'_

Hanabi thought back to the few times she had run-ins with him. That time when she saw him getting yelled at in the street by the shopkeeper. Or when she followed Elder Sister to discover her watching Naruto train. There was something about him that it seemed Hinata was drawn to. Though, Hanabi couldn't understand it.

"I never will go back on my word, because that is my ninja way," Hinata declared.

Hanabi remained silent.

* * *

Hanabi left the Hospital confused and doubtful.

Hanabi didn't get it. How was it Elder Sister Hinata believed she could change her fate? And because of that Naruto boy? There was something about Hinata that was different, Hanabi decided. She thought back to their conversation in the Hospital room. Ah, that's it. This was the first time she had seen Hinata with that much determination.

 _'Yeah, something about the look in her eyes,'_ Hanabi thought, suddenly remembering something. ' _I remember seeing that look in her eyes before...That time I saw her training! But back then, that look quickly went away. It seems this time she is really confident. Can she really change her fate...?'_ Hanabi shook her head abruptly.

' _What am I thinking?! Of course she can't change her fate. Impossible. Nonsense. Absolutely...stupid.'_ Hanabi puffed out her cheeks.

Hanabi didn't understand her elder sister's way of thinking. Didn't she see what happened to her when she went up against Neji? Wasn't that proof enough that she couldn't change her fate? Hanabi nodded her head. Yes, there was no way one could change their fate. There was no doubt in Hanabi's mind.

Glancing around, she noticed it was already dark out. She decided she would head straight home and go to bed after grabbing a quick bite to eat. It had been a long day, after all.

* * *

 _Standing outside the doors leading to the private quarters of lower branch members, Hanabi stood peeking in through the crack between the doors. In the center of the room, two tall figures that Hanabi only recognized from bowing to her in the hallways were speaking in hushed voices. She felt herself lean in closer, trying to hear what they were saying more clearly._

 _"—They completely threw him out."_

" _Who_ _would have thought_ that's _what would come of two prodigies."_

 _"What do you think they will do now?"_

 _"Try again, I guess."_

 _"So much for them taking the lead."_

 _"Yeah, the Takashima's have it rough."_

'The Takashima's, huh' _Hanabi thought, quite curious at this point as to what_ _they were talking about. Feeling she had heard enough, she was tired, after all, she backed away from the room. Though, in the process, she tripped, landing on her butt, making a small '_ thump'

 _"What was that?"_

 _"Shit, we're not supposed to be talking about this."_

 _"Don't worry, I'm checking it out."_

 _Scrambling to get up, Hanabi scurried back to the safety of her room just as the door to the room was being pulled open._

 _Hanabi, her heart thumping in her ears,_ _lay sprawled out on the sheets of her bed_ _. The beating of her heart screamed in the silence as s_ _he lay there for a moment longer with her head in her pillow._

 _Suddenly, the door opened._

 _Natsu poked her head in. "Hi, Lady Hanabi. I was just coming to say goodnight." Natsu smiled comfortingly at Hanabi._

 _"Goodnight." Hanabi squeaked._

 _Natsu silently closed the door behind her._

Hanabi woke up in a sweat. This time when she woke up, she clearly remembered what was in her dream. Not only that, but one word in the dream caught all of her attention.


End file.
